Elizabeth Sutherland, 24th Countess of Sutherland

Elizabeth Millicent Sutherland, 24th Countess of Sutherland (née Sutherland-Leveson-Gower; 30 March 1921 – 9 December 2019[1]) was a Scottish noblewoman. She was the holder of an earldom in the Peerage of Scotland and was chief of Clan Sutherland.[2]

The Right Honourable
The Countess of Sutherland
Countess of Sutherland
Arms of the Countess of Sutherland
Tenure1 February 1963 – 9 December 2019
PredecessorGeorge Sutherland-Leveson-Gower
SuccessorAlastair Sutherland
Other titlesLady Strathnaver
BornElizabeth Millicent Sutherland-Leveson-Gower
(1921-03-30)30 March 1921
Chelsea, London
Died9 December 2019(2019-12-09) (aged 98)
ResidenceDunrobin Castle
Spouse(s)
Charles Janson
(m. 1946; his death 2006)
Issue
4
ParentsLord Alastair Sutherland-Leveson-Gower
Elizabeth Demarest

Early life

Sutherland was born in Chelsea, London, on 30 March 1921, the only child of Elizabeth Demarest (1892–1931), a daughter of Warren Gardener Demarest of New York City, and Major Lord Alastair Sutherland-Leveson-Gower (1890–1921), a son of Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 4th Duke of Sutherland.[2]

Her father died while taking part in a big game expedition in Rhodesia, contracting malaria and dying there on 28 April 1921, aged 31. In 1931 her mother married Baron George Osten Driesen; she died three months after their wedding. Sutherland became a ward of her uncle George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 5th Duke of Sutherland, and when he died without legitimate issue, she succeeded him as the 24th Countess of Sutherland and Lady Strathnaver.[3] The dukedom and the other titles that could only pass in the male line were inherited by the Earl of Ellesmere. She also inherited most of her uncle's large land-holdings, including Dunrobin Castle. [4] She subsequently dropped the double-barrels in her family name, in order to be recognised as chief of Clan Sutherland.

Marriage

On 5 January 1946 Sutherland married journalist Charles Noel Janson (1917–2006) and together they had four children:[2]

  • Alistair Charles St. Clair Sutherland, 25th Earl of Sutherland (born 7 January 1947)[5] he married Eileen Baker on 29 November 1968 and they were divorced in 1980. They have two daughters. He remarried Gillian Murray on 21 March 1980. They have two children.
    • Lady Rachel Elizabeth Sutherland (born 10 August 1970)
    • Lady Rosemary Millicent Sutherland (born 10 September 1972)
    • Alexander Charles Robert Sutherland, Lord Strathnaver (born 1 October 1981)
    • Lady Elizabeth Sutherland (born 24 April 1984)
  • The Honorable Martin Dearman Sutherland Janson (born 7 January 1947) he married The Honorable Mary Balfour (daughter of Harold Balfour, 1st Baron Balfour of Inchrye) on 14 February 1974. They had five sons:
    • James Charles Harold Sutherland Janson (6 September 1975 – 4 September 2019)[6]
    • Nicholas George Sutherland Janson (9 February 1977)
    • Benjamin Edward Sutherland Janson (22 June 1979) he married Rosanna de Pree. They have three children:
      • Poppy Islay Sutherland Janson (20 November 2008)
      • Wilfred Bertie Sutherland Janson (11 March 2011)
      • Isabella Rose Sutherland Janson (10 October 2013)
    • Alexander Martin Sutherland Janson (14 April 1981)
    • Christopher David Sutherland Janson (28 September 1984)
  • Lady Annabel Elizabeth Hélène Janson (born 16 May 1952) she married John Vernon Bainton, son of Richard Bainton, on 29 October 1982.2,1
    • Alice Elizabeth V. Bainton (1985)
  • The Hon. Matthew Peter Demarest Janson (8 April 1955 – 5 December 1969)

Later life

She died on 9 December 2019 at the London home she shared with her daughter Annabel. She was aged 98. Her funeral took place at Dornoch Cathedral on 21 December.

Arms
Coat of arms of Elizabeth Sutherland, 24th Countess of Sutherland
Coronet
A Coronet of an Earl
Crest
A Cat-a-Mountain sejant rampant proper
Escutcheon
Gules three Mullets Or (as the ancient arms of Sutherland of that Ilk) on a Bordure of the second a Double Tressure flory counterflory of the first (as an Honourable Augmentation)
Supporters
On the dexter side a Savage Man wreathed about the head and loins with Laurel proper, holding in his exterior hand a Club Gules resting upon his shoulder, and on the sinister side another like Savage sustaining in his sinister hand and against his shoulder, upon a Staff ensigned by the Coronet of an Earl a Bannerette Gules, charged of three Mullets Or
Motto
Sans Peur (Without fear)

References
  1. https://www.northern-times.co.uk/news/countess-of-sutherland-dies-187901/
  2. Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood (107 ed.). Burke's Peerage & Gentry. p. 3824. ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 29 September 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "Who owns Scotland?". The Scotsman.
  5. "Person Page - 1004". Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  6. Burke's Peerage 1999 edition page 2769
Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by
George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower		 Countess of Sutherland
1963–2019		 Succeeded by
Alastair Sutherland
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